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Taoiseach Enda Kenny has again ruled out a debt write-down for Greece but has backed debt restructuring for the embattled Mediterranean country.

The move would see some of the country’s debt parked for a number of years until a time it was in position to repay the debt.
Earlier today, Junior Minister Dara Murphy suggested the Government would back “debt relief” for Greece.

“We have always had the view that debt relief, debt re-profiling would have to be part of an agreement once there was reforms and once Greece could come up with a programme of reforms that would actually allow their economy to recover,” Mr Murphy told RTE Radio One.

Mr Kenny previously ruled out any debt write down for Greece.

Today, he suggested “debt re-profiling” would be an option examined by EU leaders when they meet in Brussels tomorrow.

He said the previous talks, which collapsed ahead of the Greek referendum, also included the possibility of debt restructuring.

“There wasn’t any talk of write downs but there was talk of debt re-profiling and that happened in our own case with promissory note,” the Taoiseach said.

He added: “I think the President of the Eurogroup (Jeroen Dijsselbloem) made it perfectly clear that re-profiling was something that could be looked at if the negotiations had been completed successfully toward the end of the second programme which have now ended.”

Junior Finance Minister Simon Harris said the Government was supportive of restructuring the Greek loans because Ireland previously benefited from a similar arrangement.